Lose the Capes.

Harvey Pekar, writer of the comic series “American Splendor”, defined comic books as “Words and Pictures”, going on to say, “You can do anything with words and pictures”. “American Splendor” was an avant-garde peek into Pekar’s own bizarrely usual life, drawn by well known artists like R. Crumb and Alan Moore. The stories were peeks into the life of an ordinary man, with normal ups and downs, living a life that made him appear both comfortable and burdened.

But Harvey Pekar was special. You see, at night, when the streets ran rampant with crime, when the citizens of earth needed a champion, when justice needed a face, Harvey Pekar was...

… A usual, ordinary guy. No cape. No powers. No spandex.

The comic book medium has been plagued with an unhealthy correlation to superheroes for quite some time now. Not to dismiss an entire genre, but any close correlation between a given medium and a given genre is damaging the potential that said medium has to tell a story. Comic books - or “Graphic Novels”, or “Sequential Art” - are considered children’s playthings, colorful books made to bedazzle young eyes with stories of the triumph of Good over Evil. Some superhero stories are deep, moving, and legitimately powerful. But not all comics are superhero comics. And that’s why we are here.

The storytelling medium of the comic book deserves much more than it has received credit for. Like a book or movie, the comic book format is inherently without genre. It would be wrong to assume anything about a person because they are watch movies, or read books. And yet, comic books - the simple combination of words and pictures - are told that they can’t play at the adult table.

We'd like to change that.

We are a review site that looks to give coverage and critical review to Comic Books, Graphic Novels, and Sequential Art outside the superhero genre. We don’t hate superheroes - we love them. We read them, and some of us follow them very, very closely. But - strong as they may be - they should not be burdened with carrying the weight of the entire medium. We are attempting to shine a light on comics that don’t fall into the usual format, titles that slip from the mainstream. We are also going to keep a close eye on the comic book industry, as well as artists and writers that interest us. We’ll bring you weekly reviews of comics we actually read, as well as legacy stories from years past. We'll get you interviews with creators that might not be favored by bigger sites. We'll give you news about the books you love, and previews of the books you are about to. We want to talk to the community, to get people interested in stories outside of the mainstream.